Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,4

try to reclaim the place. But for that, Tolya needed humans as well as many forms of terra indigene. And he needed enforcers who were strong enough and feared enough that humans would follow rules and not become troublesome.

That was how Virgil ended up the town’s dominant enforcer, with Kane being the second enforcer. He didn’t know anything about human law, hadn’t spent much time around actual humans until now. But if one of the two-legged threats caused trouble, he knew how to stop them dead in their tracks. And blood in the street would be a good reminder to the rest of them of why they should behave.

And then there were the two-legs like Barbara Ellen he felt reluctantly compelled to protect.

He walked along the edge of the town square, which served as a park surrounded by the town’s original business district. A natural spring was the reason for the grass and trees—was the reason the town had been built there. The spring had been semicontained by human-made barriers, but the water still bubbled out of the ground, providing drinking water for everything with fur or feathers—and humans too.

When he came abreast of the general store, he stopped and waited for Tolya to cross the street and join him.

“Was there a problem with Barbara Ellen?” Tolya asked.

Virgil cocked his head. “Why do we call her that? The humans call her Barb.”

“Barbara Ellen sounds dignified. I’m hoping she’ll grow into the name, like a puppy grows into its big feet.”

“Huh.” That made sense, except … “She’s young but she’s an adult, not a pup. Do you really think she’ll grow into a dignified name?”

“I am hopeful.”

Tolya’s dry tone made Virgil smile. Barbara Ellen Debany had ties to the Lakeside Courtyard because her brother was a police officer who worked directly with Simon Wolfgard. That made her special among the humans who were in Bennett. And being special meant he had the task of trying to keep her out of trouble. Which made him think of the way she tended to want to befriend any and every critter.

“Are there any Snakegard here?” he asked.

“A couple of Rattlers arrived last week. Why?”

“Someone should explain to her about staying away from things that could kill her.” Virgil thought for a moment, then added, “Things that aren’t us.”

“Speaking of things that are not us, Jesse Walker feels we need to bring in more humans to become permanent residents and take over the businesses.”

“More.” Virgil’s lips pulled back in a snarl. “More of them?”

“And more of us. Enough terra indigene to maintain control of this place.” Tolya met Virgil’s eyes. “How would you feel about that? Being around them at all is difficult for you and Kane.”

“I don’t know human law,” Virgil growled. “I know how to kill.” Too often after a day around humans, he wanted to shed this terrible form and howl out his rage before he tore into throats and bellies and left bodies in pieces like … like …

“There is too much human bounty here for us to abandon this town,” Tolya said quietly. “If we don’t hold onto it, humans will flood in to claim what they can.”

“Just because we hold onto it, you think the enemy won’t find this place?”

“Find it? Yes. Even with the travel restrictions that limit humans migrating between regions, they will find a way to reach this place. Control it?” Tolya shook his head. “The Elders won’t allow that. If the Northwest, Southwest, and Midwest Regions are purged of humans, they’ll be held to the coasts and the towns available to them there.”

“And we’ll have back what was ours in the first place,” Virgil snapped.

“Should a human like Jesse Walker die? She protected the young in the Prairie Gold pack. She’s teaching a young Wolf human skills.”

He liked Jesse Walker, as much as he could like any human. “There will be enough of us to stand against the humans if they turn rabid?”

Tolya nodded. “Enough of us who can work in the shops alongside the humans and be ever watchful—and kill what cannot be allowed to remain among us.”

“We need to find someone who knows human law.”

“Another deputy. I’ll add that request to the list of professionals I’ll send to Lakeside. We’ll see what help Simon and Vlad can provide in the way of humans while we send a message among our own for any who are willing to live near humans.”

They walked up the street together, parting at the building that held the sheriff’s